


simple words

by bebe8s



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, College, Flirting, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22723678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bebe8s/pseuds/bebe8s
Summary: Eddie had spent his entire life dreading meeting his soulmate. Mainly because the first thing said soulmate was going to say to him was, "Do you come here often?" and Eddie did not want to spend his life with the type of person that would say something like that. He figured they would be extremely annoying and cheesy and probably a bit of an asshole, too.
Relationships: Bill Denbrough/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 27
Kudos: 329
Collections: IT ❀ Valentine's Day Fic Exchange





	simple words

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PigInBlackClothing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PigInBlackClothing/gifts).



> here is a cute fic for valentine's day! yay fluff!
> 
> title comes from the song "simple words" by diners

Eddie had spent his entire life dreading meeting his soulmate. Mainly because the first thing said soulmate was going to say to him was, "Do you come here often?" and Eddie did  _ not  _ want to spend his life with the type of person that would say something like that. He figured they would be extremely annoying and cheesy and probably a bit of an asshole, too.

Luckily, though, it wasn't a frequently said phrase. Not like Bill, who had, "Oh, fuck, sorry." or Beverly who literally only had, "Hi." He was never left wondering if he had met his soulmate and just not known, because literally no one had ever said that sentence to him. 

It was his second year of college when everything changed for Eddie.

Eddie was camped out in the corner of the library. He frequently did this - it was the best way for him to get his work done without distractions. He liked his little corner because no one else was around, and he could work without listening to someone tap their pencil or hum or whatever other annoying things people do while they study. 

He was writing a philosophy paper about how Condorcet's and Kant's ideas supported one another when, from his periphery, he saw someone sit two tables away. There were four small tables in this corner, and Eddie had never seen anyone else there before. For the past year and a half, it was always just Eddie.

Eddie had to fight to keep his eyes on his laptop. He wanted to look up and see who had meandered into his secret little corner on the sixth floor of the library, but he didn't want to accidentally make eye contact. He lasted fifteen minutes of being stuck on the same sentence before he gave in and looked up. 

This new boy was  _ cute _ . He had dark curly hair that looked like it had never been brushed before and was stuffed into a hat that read "This hat covers my lobotomy scar." He was wearing a striped t-shirt layered on top of a striped long sleeve, and on top of the mixed stripes he had an open Hawaiin shirt. It was a horrendous outfit, but it was kind of endearing. 

Eddie didn't realize how long he had been staring until the boy looked up and met his gaze. The boy winked at him, and Eddie blushed and immediately shot his eyes back to his computer screen. He was still struggling to focus, especially now that he knew how attractive this guy was. He was spewing out some bullshit on the meaning of freedom to both Condorcet and Kant when he saw the boy stand up.

He was a little sad, thinking that the guy was leaving before they got to speak. But the bright side was that now he would probably get some work done. Less than an hour later, he was leaving the library with a finished paper and a desire to see that guy again.

It was eight days later when Eddie saw him again. This time, Eddie was studying for his oral communications test on the Transactional Conversation Model. He was creating all these little diagrams to help him remember the important information when he saw a mop of curly hair flop down, this time at the table right next to Eddie's. Eddie could feel a blush creep up his cheeks, but he kept his eyes glued to his notes. 

About twenty minutes later, he got a text from Bev asking if he wanted to go grab dinner, so Eddie left first time. He wanted so badly to stop and say something to this guy, or even just drop his phone number or something, but his nerves talked him out of it.

The next time Eddie saw the guy was a week later. Eddie arrived at the library, ready to work on his next philosophy assignment, when he saw his unnamed library crush was already seated at a table with papers haphazardly stacked around him.

Eddie forced his eyes to stay on his textbook. He knew he would be powerless if he looked up and met this guy's eyes, solely because he caught a glimpse of them once before and they were  _ crystal _ blue. Eddie was working on flashcards when he felt something hit him on the arm.

The mystery guy was throwing paper airplanes at Eddie now. Each sheet of paper looked like important handouts from class that had been covered in doodles. Eddie guessed this guy didn't pay much attention in class. But next he was hit by a graded test, that had an A+ on it, and Eddie was impressed.

Eventually, after fifteen minutes of throwing increasingly more paper airplanes, the other guy got up and left. This time, though, he gave Eddie a wave and a wink on his way out. That wink would stay with Eddie for a while, for  _ several  _ different reasons.

Three weeks went by, and Eddie couldn't stop wondering where the boy had gone. He hadn't been back since the last time Eddie saw him, and Eddie was getting restless. He had promised himself that he was going to talk to him the next time he came. And he really was, but he just never got the opportunity.

Until that one Wednesday afternoon when everything changed. Eddie had all of his anatomy notes scattered across the table as he studied for the exam he had next week. He had been studying daily for it for a week now, and he knew he was well beyond prepared for it. He still had a hard time letting himself relax.

He was so focused on his studying that he didn't even notice his mystery guy approaching. That is, he didn't notice until said guy sat down at Eddie's table. He had situated himself in the chair directly across from Eddie's, and when Eddie looked up, his eyes were scanning across Eddie's notes. Eddie was getting ready to open his mouth, but the other guy beat him to it.

"So, do you come here often?"

Eddie's heart stopped. He didn't know how to react. He didn't know if it was  _ that  _ moment, or if he was just cursed to have that said to him more than once in his lifetime. Before he could think better of it, he just said, "Are you kidding me?"

He watched as the other man's face twisted into what looked like a mix of shock and confusion. He kept looking forward, unsure of what to do, when the guy reached out and grabbed Eddie's arm. He pushed Eddie's sleeve up and exposed the tattoo on his wrist that unfortunately contained the exact words that had just been said to him.

"No fucking way," the guy whispered to himself. Now Eddie's face twisted as he cocked his head to the side. The guy rolled his own sleeve back to show off "Are you kidding me?" tattooed in a small font on his own wrist. 

Eddie's mouth went dry. He hadn't expected to meet his soulmate this early in his life. He was only nineteen years old, and most people didn't find their person until their mid-twenties at the earliest. But yet, here he was. 

"Alright, I'm not going to lie to you. The first time I saw you back here, I secretly hoped that you would be my soulmate. I knew the chances were slim, but I could at least dream," the guy said, and Eddie blushed a little.

"I'm Richie, by the way. It's very nice to finally meet you."

"Eddie. You too," Eddie replied. He was having a hard time processing what was happening. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but he also wanted to go hide in his dorm room and just let his mind freak out about this new development.

"I was trying to draw you out the last time I was here. You know, when I was throwing the paper airplanes. I figured that might prompt you to ask if I was joking. But it still worked out, even if it is about 2 months later than I had intended," Richie revealed, a slight pink tint on his face. 

"I kept wanting to talk to you, but by the time I got up the confidence to do so, I stopped seeing you here. I was bummed. I actually increased my time spent here in hopes of running into you," Eddie said with a soft smile.

"Okay, that's very gay of you." Richie and Eddie both laughed, and it was comfortable. "So, is whatever you're doing important, or can I bother you to go out on a date? I kind of would really like to get to know you," Richie said.

Within moments, Eddie had packed all of his papers back into his bag and was ready to go. Richie had a car on campus, and he drove them to a diner nearby. It looked a little messy, which caused Eddie's anxiety to flare up a bit, but he fought through it. It was easier to fight through it, knowing that staying meant time with Richie.

Richie ordered pancakes, so, after mocking him for ordering breakfast for lunch, Eddie followed suit and ordered waffles. This prompted Richie to start a very long rant about why pancakes are better than waffles, and as much as Eddie defended his love of waffles, Richie would not concede.

"I'm sorry. I know we are supposed to vibe together for our entire lives, but I'm going to need you to respect pancakes a little more if you sincerely want any of this lovin'," Richie said, and Eddie rolled his eyes (something that he didn't realize would become quite routine).

Throughout dinner, Richie never shut up. Like, ever. He had so many ridiculous stories to tell, and Eddie wondered if they were true or if he was just exaggerating. Either way, Richie was hilarious. Eddie nearly had his water coming out of his nose on several accounts.

Once they had finished their food, Richie ordered one oreo milkshake with two straws, saying with a grin and eyebrow waggle, "Cause, you know, it's romantic, and this is a date."

Their milkshake came, and the first thing Richie did was swipe his pointer finger through the whipped cream and smear it on Eddie's lips. Eddie was getting ready to complain when Richie said, "Oops, you got a little something there. Let me get that for you."

And then Richie was leaning in and they were kissing, and it felt so  _ right _ . Eddie had heard stories about what it felt like to kiss your soulmate, but he never really knew if they were true. They always seemed so exaggerated and dramatic. He doubted that any kiss could feel  _ perfect _ . This one did, though. This one felt more than perfect.

"Very smooth of you," Eddie joked when Richie pulled back. Richie just shot him a wink as he leaned forward to take a sip of the milkshake.

"I'm going to be honest, I have always been nervous about my soulmate. I wondered what type of person used 'Do you come here often?' as a pick up line. I figured they would be unbearable."

"And?" 

"I was right. You are quite annoying."

Richie barked out a laugh at that, clearly charmed by Eddie's blunt delivery.

"But, you know what? For some reason, it's working on me. Like, I like it. I can see why you're my soulmate," Eddie finished. This time, it was Richie who blushed.

"Well, Eddie Spaghetti, I am happy to hear that. If you're charmed by me  _ now _ , just wait until you finally have the privilege of experiencing my dick. That will further your love and adoration for everything about me."

"I never said 'love' or 'adoration,' dickwad."

"Ah, cute pet names. The core of any good relationship."

They ended up going back to Richie's dorm after their meal, where Richie insisted on showing Eddie his favorite movie ( _ Scott Pilgrim vs. the World _ , which Eddie has to admit, was pretty fucking hilarious). They talked a lot, and Eddie found that Richie and him really seemed to complete each other. He met Richie's roommate and longtime best friend Stan, who immediately apologized to Eddie for the fact that he was stuck with Richie. 

And later, when the three of them met Bill for dinner at the student center, they all crammed into a both in the back of the cafeteria. And when Bill introduced himself to Stan, starting his introduction with, "First of all, I'm very sorry you met  _ him  _ first," Stan proceeded to spill his entire drink on Bill's lap. He muttered out an embarrassed, "Oh, fuck, sorry," and Bill's eyes seemed to grow ten sizes. Eddie could tell he didn't even care about the spilled drink. 

Three minutes and a copious amount of napkins later, Stan and Bill figured out that  _ they  _ were soulmates. It almost felt too crazy to be true, but it was. Stan and Bill had the words inked on their wrists to prove it. 

Eddie couldn't believe how incredibly  _ right  _ everything felt now. More than that, he couldn't believe that someone who really said, "Do you come here often?" was so irresistible to him. He couldn't believe that today was the day the rest of his life began.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i love soulmate au's and was so excited to get this in the valentine's exchange. i hope i did the theme justice!
> 
> as i always say, come chat on [tumblr](https://birightsrichie.tumblr.com)!!


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